GTA 6 release date delay confirmed as Rockstar apologises for needing extra time

We finally have a GTA 6 release date, but it comes alongside news of a delay that won't see the game launch until almost midway through 2026.

We've all been waiting on the next trailer to drop after the that came with the news that the game would be dropping in 2025. Two years later, we've been champing at the bit for more news or another look, and with Take Two moving the release date out by a couple of weeks (via ), we were suspecting that 6 release date would be somewhere in September.

Well, has finally posted an update on its

Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026. https://t.co/YgaIn1cYc8 pic.twitter.com/cyeK7GM6Ob

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) May 2, 2025

with an actual GTA 6 release date. The bad news is that it's not coming until May 26, 2026. The developer apologised for the news, saying it's "very sorry" that the launch is "later than expected."

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The GTA 6 release date delay has been attributed to Rockstar needing "this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."

Of course, this is going to be great news for publishers and developers releasing games in the typically packed Q3/4 window, who won't be jostling for attention in the shadow of GTA 6 anymore. That includes Ghost of Yōtei, whose pre-orders open today, Hell is Us, and .

Here we go again

GTA 6 development was described as "well underway" back with rumours in 2023 suggesting Rockstar would be to hit a 2024 launch. Hopes were raised once again after an earnings report hinted that we may , which for the US, ends on September 30, 2025. So we were all expecting (or hoping!) to see the title launch that month. Especially after the Q4 2024 earnings report that to 'fall 2025'.

So, as you'd expect, news of the delay has been a bit of a bummer for fans, although responses on Twitter have been a mixed bag; some fans are supporting the wait so long as the final product delivers, while a small contingent missed the '2026' and had a blissful few seconds thinking the GTA 6 release date was just a few weeks away before crashing back down to reality.

I guess the to "early to mid 2026" weren't nonsense after all, despite the .

It's been over 10 years since the launch of , which has spanned three console generations, and we're expecting a lot in the way of upgrades and improvements – especially as we're halfway through the and |S lifecycle, and with the extra boost the can offer.

Yes, it's a bummer that those developments are seemingly taking forever, but Rockstar has to deliver on player expectations at this point, and if it needs an extra eight months to do that, then a GTA 6 release date delay is the wisest course of action. And as much as players might grumble, it's not going to stop them picking up the game at launch when it finally comes out on May 26, 2026.